Publishers of journals, whether societies or commercial publishers, wish to meet expenses and make a profit. Commercial publishers strive to maximize profits, which has led them to increases in journal prices at rates far in excess of inflation. This, in turn, has led to the "serials crisis" in which research libraries must cancel subscriptions that their clients consider essential. Reduced subscriptions have led to still higher journal prices (to maintain profits), further aggravating the crisis.
Journal publishers are taking advantage of the Web's quick, convenient delivery of information by creating electronic versions of their traditional, print journals. To protect their subscription revenues, they have made the e-versions accessible only to those who have paid for a subscription or who are clients of a library that has paid for a site license to the journal. Authors who want their refereed work to be accessible toll-free on the Web concurrent with paper ...
